Mozilla's CEO Makes the Case for the Firefox Mobile OS

via allthingsd.com

No one likes a duopoly — in the tech business industry, that is. And one of the largest duopolies today is the mobile OS split between Apple’s iOS operating system and Google’s Android.

Mozilla, the foundation behind the popular Firefox Web browser, wants to take the lead amid the multiple companies vying for third place. The company is working on the Firefox OS, a mobile system software initiative similar to what Google is doing with the Chrome OS for the desktop. In a nutshell, it’s taking the set of standards coding for a browser environment and bringing it to an entire operating system for the phone.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

What Facebook's New Phone Software Will Look Like

via businessinsider.com

Facebook is reportedly set to announce new software for Android, Google's mobile software, tomorrow.

Today, @evleaks, an anonymous mobile leaker, posted photos of what it's going to look like at 9to5Google. Facebook's modification of Android appears to make the operating system simpler.

By most accounts, Facebook isn't totally taking over Android. It's just providing a "skin," or its own layer of design atop the operating system. This is widespread with Android. HTC and Samsung each have their own tweaks to Android. HTC has "Sense" and Samsung has "TouchWiz".

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

Facebook Phone Is Coming, According To Reports

via businessinsider.com

The story that just won't die — the Facebook phone — is back.

Facebook sent out invitations for a media event next Thursday at its headquarters which read "Come see our new home on Android."

This immediately set off a wave of speculation about what Facebook would announce. The initial thought was that Facebook simply had a new, updated Android application.

But then reports started pouring in that Facebook was ready to announce a new operating system based on Android...

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

Mozilla Unveils Firefox OS Smartphones At Mobile World Congress

via readwrite.com

It started with a gecko, of sorts. It then became a fennec, a type of winter fox. Now, it is a smartphone, and soon it will be available all over the world.

We are, of course, talking about Firefox OS, the open source, Web-based smartphone operating system created by Mozilla. The company announced Sunday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, that it has partnered with device manufacturers and mobile operators across the world to launch Firefox smartphones in 2013.

Mozilla also officially launched the Firefox Marketplace, an app store featuring mobile Web applications and websites that will be able to operate on the new smartphones. Both the Firefox OS and Marketplace are optimized towards HTML5 development and open Web standards using Mozilla’s Firefox browser as its backbone.

Mozilla claimed three initial manufacturers ready to build and deploy Firefox OS smartphones: LG, Alcatel and ZTE. These devices will be distributed to 17 global carriers in nine countries, including Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Serbia, Montenegro, Poland, Spain, Hungary and Venezuela. (Note that these are largely developing markets, and the list does not include the United States.) Since the announcement yesterday, Sony has also said that it would build and release Firefox OS smartphones in 2014. On the other hand, market leader Samsung has said that it is not interested in building smartphones for Mozilla (likely due to its investment in the similar Tizen platform).

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

This Is Firefox OS in Action

via gizmodo.com

Firefox OS won't be coming to the U.S. until 2014, and chances are that its rather budget approach is not for you, dear gadget-obsessed Gizmodo reader. But Firefox OS burst onto the scene today at Mobile World Congress with announcements of new, upcoming handsets, and a global roll-out plan.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

Ubuntu for tablets unveiled: A crazy idea that might just work

via extremetech.com

Canonical has unveiled the tablet interface for Ubuntu, and the key features of Ubuntu Touch — the version of Ubuntu that will run on ARM smartphones and tablets. The Touch Developer Preview of Ubuntu, which you can install on your Nexus 7 or 10 tablet, or Nexus 4 smartphone, will be available to download on February 21.

The standout feature for Ubuntu Touch — if you believe Canonical’s hype machine, anyway — is side-by-side multitasking of Ubuntu phone and tablet apps. Ubuntu Touch (or whatever it ends up being called) introduces a new feature called “side stage” that looks almost exactly like split-screen mode in Windows 8′s Metro interface. The idea is that you can run a smartphone app on the smaller portion of the screen (which is portrait-oriented, like a smartphone) and a tablet app side-by-side. This sounds kind of cool until you realize that Ubuntu smartphones and tablets will run the same operating system (Ubuntu Touch), and that “side stage” is ultimately just a mirror of Windows 8′s split-screen mode.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

Analyzing The Most Popular Mobile Operating Systems

via inspirationfeed.com

When you decide to buy a smartphone, you would want to invest in a device that will last for at least a year. This article takes you through one of the most important factors that determine the usefulness of a smartphone — its operating system (OS). The OS running on all the hardware packed into a smart looking device determines how “smart” your smartphone really is.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios